The Biggest Loser Diet Plan

Based upon the plan used on NBC’s popular reality TV show The Biggest Loser (where contestants compete to lose the most weight), The Biggest Loser Diet plan focuses on lowering fat, calories, and refined carbohydrates like sugar. The simple theory behind the diet is that weight loss will result if you eat fewer calories than you burn. Some of the rules for this diet are to eat three meals and one to three snacks a day, to use the “4-3-2-1 Biggest Loser Pyramid” as a guide for what to eat, and to keep track of your daily calories.

What makes the Biggest Loser Diet plan different?

This is a low calorie diet, where you must do some calorie counting. Luckily a great online resource was designed to make calorie counting easy and efficient. The food pyramid used to create The Biggest Loser Diet plan is different from the standard USDA’s (United States Department of Agriculture) My Pyramid. The focus here is to eat more fruits and vegetables, and a moderate amount of whole grains, to increase the consumption of protein and to eliminate sugar and refined grains, like white bread, pasta and even potatoes.

What is the Biggest Loser Diet plan?

The Biggest Loser Diet plan works by lowering your intake of fat, calories, and refined carbohydrates. Tracking your calories is a must, and purchasing food scales and measuring cups will help you learn exact portions until you can eyeball these on your own.

Although a book has been published with calorie guidelines based on a specific body weight, the online arena of The Biggest Loser Diet (www.thebiggestloserclub.com) is easier to use and does the math for you. All you need is your starting weight and a weight loss goal, and then meal plans are automatically planned for you, along with recipes and shopping lists. Animated fitness demos, an online journal, and a progress tracker are also provided as is a customized program for those allergic to specific foods and vegetarians.

If you don’t want to spend $5.00 per week for the website, you will need to learn the “4-3-2-1 Biggest Loser Pyramid,” which sets out the number of servings you can eat daily. This consists of four serving of fruits and veggies, three servings of protein foods (such as dairy, meat, and beans), two servings of whole grains, and an extra 200 calories from the diet’s list of selected foods, including various foods from the three categories mentioned above, as well as additional foods such as oils, salad dressings, olives, avocadoes, and sugar free fudgsicles. Depending on your calorie needs, you have to adjust the type of protein you eat and your portions sizes. The book provides sample meal plans, menus and recipes that follow the “4-3-2-1 Biggest Loser Pyramid” for different calorie levels (including 1200, 1500, and 1800).

The Biggest Loser Diet plan encourages eating four to six meals a day (three meals and one to three snacks), weighing yourself weekly, and avoiding certain “appetite-stimulating foods,” like white bread, white pasta, potato chips, and other junky and refined foods. The diet also suggests many substitutes so that you won’t miss your favorite foods. For example, get ready to experience spaghetti squash, instead of your everyday pasta.

As for a maintenance plan, The Biggest Loser Diet plan provides advice from past contestants on The Biggest Loser on how they kept their weight off. This includes keeping a food journal, sticking with the principles of the diet, only cheating every once in a while, and staying active. Many of the past contestants continue to exercise three to six times a week for an hour or an hour and a half.

The plan is also peppered with advice from prior The Biggest Loser contestants to help motivate you and the online community provides forums and message boards with thousands of posts by other members and past contestants. One unique idea suggests setting up your own Biggest Loser competition. The plan provides directions on how to set-up the competition and provides an official rules list. This is a creative way to get fit and create social support.

What are the weight loss expectations?

The Biggest Loser Diet Plan does not give any specific expectations and says that different people will lose weight at different rates. The plan mentions that two pounds a week is a safe and normal weight loss rate.

Is exercise promoted?

Exercise in the form of cardio, strength and resistance training are all important parts of The Biggest Loser Diet. For cardio, your goal is to build up to 200-300 minutes per week. The diet offers an online program called Base Training, which is encouraged as a starting point, It instructs you on building up to a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio exercise three to six times per week. This exercise can take many forms, from swimming to trampoline jumping, from cycling to wrestling, etc. Other online cardio programs are available, including Tempo Training and Interval Training, both of which allow you to choose the level that is appropriate for your fitness level. The Biggest Loser Diet plan does encourage you to speak with your doctor before starting any of the exercise programs.

The Bigger Loser Diet Plan also offers strength workouts online, including the Basic Stabilization Workout, the Strength and Stabilization Workout, and the Higher Volume Workout. As with cardio, you choose the activity level that is right for you. A basic tutorial is available for both the cardio and strength/resistance training so that you can feel more comfortable before beginning your exercise regimen. You can also track your activity online and view a demo of the exercise.

Are supplements recommended?

The Biggest Loser Diet plan does not recommend any supplements.